The snow-white robe was covered with a large area of blood that had turned dark red, and the noble and holy face that was originally in the eyes of many people was now a dark gray death.

The Archbishop of Montpellier had been dead for three days, his decomposing body was hung on a row of wooden shelves in the Piazza del Duomo, and to his left was a village priest, an unlucky man, who had only come from the countryside to report to the archbishop on the affairs of the diocese.

On the other side was the treasurer of the cathedral, a close confidant and purse of the Archbishop of Montpellier, who, according to some, was also the main accomplice in encouraging the archbishop to mix base metals with the gold coins.

Whatever noble and inviolable divine status these people had, they were all dead now, and they still stenched with disgust in the heat of June.

Not far from their bodies, the door of Montpellier Cathedral was wide open, and the original solemn bronze door had fallen to one side, and the one that was still standing had been deformed, and the new traces of the recessed inward in the middle proved that there had been a tragic door-breaking conflict here.

Much of the church had been looted, and even the sacred donation box had been smashed open, except for a few small copper coins scattered around the corner.

The 9th of June was a day that the people of Montpellier will never forget, and many of them went mad on this day, grabbing whatever weapon they could grab and rushing to the church, and then raising their murder weapons at the clergy, whom they usually saw bending down and bowing in fear.

Not many clergy were able to escape, and with the exception of a few lucky ones who were not in the cathedral, almost all of the clergy who had not been able to leave at the time had become punching bags for the angry Montpelliers.

The archbishop had been pulled out of the cupboard, and he had pushed out the country priest who had tried to hide in the cupboard with him, a mistaken decision that led to the sight of the country priest banging on the door of the cupboard when the people rushed into his room.

After knocking down the priest, the archbishop was immediately pulled out, and he was dragged out of the cathedral by an angry crowd, and after a brief sentence that was almost impossible to count, the archbishop was hanged on the frame of the church door.

Then the whole cathedral was sacked like never before, and the already frantic populace completely lost sight of the fact that it was the abode of God and Christ, and they robbed the cash boxes, tore off the gold leaf from the edges of the precious images, and even came up with the idea of two precious stones set in a statue of the Virgin.

As for the archbishop's own room, it had already been ransacked by the first to rush in.

From his cupboard and some of the not too hard to find secret greetings, they unearthed a number of melted gold nuggets, which were apparently withheld from the gold Rick when he ordered the coins to be minted.

However, compared to the number of Ladia coins issued in the entire diocese of Montpellier, this gold was not even a fraction of the amount, so soon the so-called "archbishop's treasure" began to circulate in the city of Montpellier, and for a time all the churches of the entire diocese became the target of the angry and frenzied Montpelliers.

All this happened because with the exchange of Ladia, more and more people found that the color content of the Ladia gold coins itself had a big problem, and the merchants of those exchange houses also took advantage of these problems to reduce the exchange ratio more and more, so that in some remote places there was an amazing phenomenon of 15:1.

And the reason for exchanging merchants makes the people angry but there is nothing they can do.

"Either exchange it or keep it for yourself, but the reputation of the Radia gold coin is now about to go bankrupt, and unless you can guarantee that you have a Ladia issued by the Holy See in your hand, no one will want to accept the gold Ladia coins minted by the dioceses themselves."

This statement caused an uncontrollable anger to gather among those who had the gold Ladia coins in their hands, and when they heard that all this was due to the bishops of the diocese taking the opportunity to embezzle and enrich themselves, the angry people finally pointed their heads at the archbishop of Montpellier.

It was a rare riot of anger in which the aristocracy, wealthy merchants, commoners, and even beggars all aimed at the same thing, attacking priests, smashing churches, and then flocking to Montpellier Cathedral, whose doors had been closed after hearing the news.

At the call of several officers, the people used a stone statue near the church as a battering ram, and with a few blows they smashed open the large bronze door of the church, which had only had time to hang a wooden bolt in a hurry.

The attack began almost instantly, so much so that some of the nobles who had rushed to the scene with the intention of using the people to put pressure on the archbishop saw the archbishop's body dangling back and forth hanging on the door frame, and the people, who knew that they seemed to have caused a catastrophe, had already fled in all directions after sacking the church.

At the same time, rumors of the "archbishop's treasure" began to spread from the city of Montpellier to all over the city.

Over the next three days, the riots in Montpellier were like Pandora's box opened, starting from all over the south of France and setting off a wave against the Church.

"Excuse me, what's the price today?"

One of the people in front of him asked a money changer sitting behind a table.

"1 Florin for 12 Ladia." The exchange merchant repeated the market with some impatience, and he didn't know how many times he had said.

"How can it be cheaper than yesterday, yesterday it was still 1 for 10."

"You can keep it for yourself," the merchant still looked impatient, people are always sleepy in such weather, so his temper is not good, "You must know that Montpellier is already 15 for 1, and the price will have to be reduced in the future." ”

Montpellier, 15 for 1, the price has to fall, these seem to be very far away and can be ignored, but if you don't change the Radia on hand, is it really waiting for the bankruptcy of the hand?

The people began to hesitate, knowing that this man was the largest money changer in the region, unless they had to go far away to Piedmont, which was not much better than here, and the road was not smooth now.

Some people began to hesitate, and when the first person took out the money bag and put it on the table, the alliance that had been maintained for a short time instantly collapsed, and as if they were afraid that the exchanger would really continue to reduce the price, people rushed to put the money bag on the table.

"Don't worry, come one by one."

The exchanger still looked impatient, but before he could pick up the first money bag, a man hurried up to him and whispered a few words to him.

The merchant's face changed suddenly, he looked at the bulging money bags on the table a little flustered, showing a trace of reluctance, but then immediately rushed up loudly: "We are closed today, let's go back and come back tomorrow." ”

"What, are you going to lower the price?" People began to be dissatisfied, and the series of questions made the passers-by look curiously at the shop, which had suddenly become very good recently.

"I swear with my mother's soul, which I am already in heaven, that I will not lower the price," the merchant hurriedly drove the people out, "I promise you that if I open the door tomorrow, I may give you a few more florins, now hurry away, we are closing!" ”

The people who were pushed out looked blankly at the people of the exchange shop and began to clean up the stalls and close the door, and then some of them suddenly remembered what the merchant had just said.

"What if it's still open tomorrow? Is something wrong? ”

Someone asked suspiciously, and people felt inexplicable for a while.

In the shop, however, the money changer was busy packing up his things, and at the same time hurriedly asked the man who had brought him the news: "Are you sure that something is wrong with Montpellier?" ”

The messenger panicked and said: "The locals have attacked the cathedral, the archbishop has been killed and his body has been exposed, it seems that something serious is going to happen, let's leave Nice and go to Piedmont to hide, this place will soon be in chaos, I heard that even the nobles on the Montpellier side participated in the riot, we have made a lot of money from these people, they will not let us go." ”

"No, you can't go to Piedmont, don't you see that it's useless to hide anywhere like this," said the merchant, anxiously walking back and forth, and then he suddenly stopped and stared at his companion, "and don't you think it's a good opportunity?" The opportunity to make a fortune is here again! ”

"You're crazy, it's time to die at any time, so what's the chance?" The companion asked blankly.

"Up to now, what we have exchanged for is the Ladia issued by the dioceses themselves, just as we have received Nice, and some people have received it from other places, those Ladiali are indeed impure, but the Ladia issued by the Vatican itself is genuine," the merchant casually took out a beautifully cast Ladia and shook it in front of his companion's eyes, "What do you think would happen if we could prove to those people outside that these Ladia minted by the Holy See still have enough value?" ”

"You're going to trade Radia for Radia directly?" My companion asked in amazement.

"To be precise, to exchange the Holy See Radia at the same low price, to exchange the Ladia of each diocese itself, what percentage do you think they will accept? 3:1, 4:1 or 5:1? The merchant smiled slyly, "Which do you think they would accept if you were them, compared to 15 Ladia for one Florin?" ”

"But is there anyone else willing to ask for Radia now?" The companion's heart couldn't help but be moved, "And where are we going to exchange so many Holy See Ladia?" ”

"There will always be a way, my friend, if we can think of this, others will naturally be able to, so believe me, maybe someone is already starting to open up this path, all we have to do is to stay and wait for news, maybe someone will be willing to deal with us soon." Seeing that his companion was still a little hesitant, the merchant cheered him up, "I heard that the Fugol family has made a lot of effort in this matter, it is a great family, I believe they should have already seen this step, so if you don't want to continue to get rich, just take your share and go, but if you want to stay for the rest of your life, but don't forget that you listened to me before to have all this now, this time I believe I will not be wrong." ”

The companion hesitated, listening to the arguments of those who were still noisy on the street outside, he suddenly gritted his teeth and nodded: "I listened to you this time, do it!" ”

The merchant nodded with satisfaction, in this era of war and chaos, it is not easy to find a reliable companion.

"Well, let's see what happens in Nice." The merchant said expectantly.

Off the old port of Marseille, a small fleet of four ships had just left the harbor to deliver supplies to the French army on an expedition to Italy.

While many supplies, including food and wine, could be requisitioned and looted in the war zone, some essential goods had to be shipped from mainland France.

Standing on the deck looking farther and farther away at the docks, an old man in travel clothes looked worried, he was the treasurer of the city of Marseille.

He was not supposed to leave the city, but he was forced to travel with the fleet to Italy, in order to tell the king personally about the unusual things that had happened in the port of Marseille in recent days.

The fact that there had been no large fleet entering the port for a week in a row worried the treasurer, and more importantly, even according to the meagre information and information he could get, he found that since the Trade Union announced the severance of trade with France, with the shortage of goods, the rejection of Ladia gold coins, and the flood of the black market, France was facing a lack of exports, and at the same time a large amount of gold was in danger of frantically losing abroad!

"I have to report all this to the king, and I find that there seems to be a conspiracy against France, and although I do not have any evidence yet, I am sure that the wise king will listen to me, for we have all taught him a great deal before, and he is indeed a good student."

Prior to this, the treasurer had written to his friend in Paris, now the rector of the University of Paris, about the terrible phenomena he had discovered, and before his friend could reply, the treasurer boarded the ship bound for Italy.

The scene on the docks was already a little blurry, and just as the treasurer was about to go down to the warehouse, a sudden cloud of smoke rose from the city of Marseille in the distance and caught his attention and the people next to him.

People rushed to the side of the boat to look in the direction of the city, and just as they were still talking, someone suddenly saw a group of figures appear and rush to the dock.

Then a fierce clash broke out on the docks!

At the same time, smoke was already rising from several places in the city, and looking in those directions, someone recognized that it was supposed to be the location of the Church of Our Lady, which caused a stir of panic.

The treasurer, looking palely at the chaos on the docks, and then at the smoke-filled city, clutched tightly a leather bag that had straddled his shoulder, which he had discovered through his studies of the past few days, and which he felt compelled to be delivered to the king as soon as possible.

"Otherwise, something big might happen." The treasurer whispered to himself.

As for whether Louis XII would take his advice, the treasurer was not worried, because from his knowledge of the king, he knew that Louis XII would quickly detect the crisis and take swift measures.

The fleet slowly sailed out to sea, and behind it was the city of Marseille, already covered in smoke, and the chaotic harbor.

As Charlen walked down the road to Palazzo Lucrezia, he was slightly surprised to see the unusually clean streets around him.

Even if there was no war, he had the impression that neither Rome nor Paris was as clean as Pisa.

The smell of feces and the streets littered with garbage and dead animal carcasses made him feel uncomfortable, and he was reminded of the Duke of Thesia, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

Although he didn't know where the duke was now, Sharron had never forgotten him, and even he always felt that everything now was inseparable from the duke, just like his visit, which had too much contact with the duke.

However, he still had a lot of confidence in this mission, because with his knowledge of the Borgia family, Caesar's death would definitely have a great impact on Lucrezia.

Charlon's guess was very accurate, he didn't wait long after coming to Pisa, and was notified that he would be summoned after 2 days, but a little unexpectedly, when he was ready, there was news that the duchess was in poor health, although he heard that he was only suffering from the cold, but this was obviously a great event in this era, so Charlen had to wait for another 2 days.

And in the intervening days, Borwicken also temporarily halted the offensive on Pisa at the suggestion of Scharlon.

In fact, Borwicken also needed to take the opportunity to rest his army at this time, because the city of Pisa, which he thought should be captured soon, was unexpectedly difficult to deal with.

In addition to a much more tenacious army and astonishing artillery fire than he had heard, Pisa seemed to have a commander who surprised him.

This person's performance may not be perfect, but he can often save Pisa from crisis time and time again.

It was in the midst of this attrition that Borwicken found it increasingly difficult for his army to fight, so when Scharron proposed a temporary truce, he immediately agreed.

Estelles's wind chill was obviously a false alarm, and after 2 days, Charlaon was finally able to meet the Duchess and her mother again, but because the Duchess could not see the wind yet, the place of the meeting was arranged in the Lucrezia Palace.

This actually made Charlen happy, and he thought that entering the Lucrezia Palace was a good opportunity to prove that he could have a more convenient conversation with this lady, so he pondered carefully all the way how to deal with the next summons.

To Charlon's surprise, Lucrezia was dressed in black, which made the French immediately realize that she was mourning for her dead brother, which made Charlen more confident in the purpose of his trip.

Lucrezia's face was very bad, she had clearly not yet recovered from her sorrow for Caesar, and looking at the Frenchman, she sighed softly after the Charron saluted.

"Unfortunately, ma'am, but all this is God's arrangement," said Charron in a low voice, "I will not forget how Caesar was with you and the Duke of Thesia when I came to the baptism of the Duchess, and you looked like a family. ”

Charlon's words made Lucrezia's eyes reddened slightly, she shook her head lightly and stretched out her hand to ask Charlain to sit down, and then after the Frenchman sat down, he looked at him calmly and said, "General, I know why you came to Pisa, and you also saw that the mourning clothes I wore were a moment of silence for Caesar, I think you must understand how sad I am at my brother's death." ”

"Yes, I know the affection of the Borgia family, and the king knows it too, so ......"

"Listen to me," interrupted Scharon with rare irrationality, Lucrezia, "I know that Caesar's wife and her children are still with King Navarre, and that it was a girl, and I have decided to send for them, for they are my sister-in-law and niece." ”

"Of course that's good, but I'm sure King Navarre will take care of them too, after all, that's his family."

Sharron said, somehow vaguely feeling that something was wrong.

"Then you can leave."

Sure enough, Lucrezia's next words surprised Sharron.

"Caesar," said Lucrezia in a sad tone, "he has always been ambitious, even if he was imprisoned on the island of Elba, as we all know, but I always thought that he would be fine if he did not escape, but not only did he escape, but he became an enemy of Alexander, and I should have imprisoned him when he arrived in Pisa, or simply sent him back to Elba, but I let him go, and I killed him." ”

"No, ma'am, it's the ......"

"Yes, it's not me," said Lucrezia suddenly, "but it's his own ambition, not for Caesar, but for dust, which he has always pursued, and if he is imprisoned on that island for the rest of his life, it is better to die on the battlefield." ”

Lucrezia said with a sad but radiant smile on her face: "I know that this may be what he is after, so although I am sad, I am also relieved, because even in the end he fell on the way to the charge, he is a Borgia!" ”

Charlen looked at Lucrezia wordlessly, he vaguely knew the result of his visit.

Sure enough, Lucrezia, who had gradually calmed down, continued to him: "I know your intentions, but I will not waver in the slightest whether it is for my own interests or for Pisa's sake, Pisa is the staunchest member of the Holy Alliance, please go back and tell your king that this is my decision." ”

Charlen looked at the woman in front of him a little helplessly, he knew that what he said seemed to be useless, and just as he was about to speak again, Lucrezia suddenly remembered something and continued: "There is another thing that happens to inform you, just last night, the fleet of our ally, Doria of Genoa, sank several ships from France, and while they were salvaging the booty, it was discovered that one of the passengers who had unfortunately died in it seemed to be someone known to King Louis. ”